JSC “Turbokholod” is preparing to install and commission work on the ADKG-20 series of vertical turboexpander units that were shipped earlier to the Chayandinskoye field in Yakutia. 8 units for low-temperature separation are intended for the gas collection and treatment system at the main raw material base of the pipeline “Sila Sibiri”, which will begin operation in December 2019.

With the commissioning of the “Sila Sibiri” main pipeline, the largest gas transportation system will be created in Eastern Russia. With its help, gas will be provided to consumers in the Far East. By 2050, the volume of hydrocarbons export to the People’s Republic of China will exceed 1 trillion cubic meters.

China’s gas supply will begin in December 2019. By this time, the Chayandinsky oil and gas condensate field will have completed commissioning, and the equipment will be put into operation in a comprehensive test.

In mid-July 2019, it is planned to supply gas to the integrated gas treatment Unit No. 3 (UKPG-3). In August, after connecting the field and the “Sila Sibiri” pipeline, it will start operations.

In preparation for the pipeline launch, the Chayandinsky Oil and Gas Condensate Field (COGCF) will also put into operation a Central booster compressor station and a helium concentrate membrane separation unit. By the end of November, all the objects in the field will work as a single coherent system. Construction and installation works, commissioning of equipment are carried out in accordance with the requirements of STO Gazprom, according to the developed schedules and local documentation.

Installation supervision

For commissioning, the General contractor of “Gazprom Avtomatizatsiya” will work with direct equipment manufacturers. Thus, the supervision of eight ADKG-20 turboexpander units at UKPG-3 will be carried out by representatives of JSC “Turbokholod” – the manufacturer of this equipment, already called by industrial experts as “the heart of the production cycle”.

Commissioning of turboexpander units will take place in several stages. First, the equipment will pass individual tests. Based on the results, it will be evaluated whether all the requirements for TDA are met in the working documentation, national standards, and technical conditions. This will be followed by a comprehensive testing of ADKG-20.

The compliance of turboexpander units with high requirements and their suitability for operation will be confirmed by the measurement and test reports (including individual ones, with the preparation of the required certificates) and, in fact, the successful completion of comprehensive tests. The results of these numerous inspections will be analyzed by representatives of Rostechnadzor and “Gazprom Gaznadzor”. If these organizations do not find any violations, they will approve the issuance of a permit for the primary gas supply to the installation.

How does the heart of the production cycle beat? 

The use of turboexpander units for low-temperature separation of raw materials is provided by the design solutions for the development of the Chayandinsky Oil and Gas Condensate Field. Such a system enables to obtain gas with characteristics corresponding to the STO Gazprom 089-2010. 

The gas collection network of the Chayandinsky Field will be filled with products from wells located in the area of UKPG-3, and later UKPG-2. The raw material will then be sent to the thread and cork catchers building. This process facility is used for primary gas separation and liquid droplet capture.

After preliminary preparation, the gas is sent to the heat exchanger. In the cooled state, the hydrocarbon feedstock is delivered to the ADKG-20 fleet, where it is subjected to low-temperature separation.  

From the collection and treatment system, gas flows to the central booster compressor station. Here it is compressed to the working pressure. Bypassing the “commercial” node, where the necessary parameters are measured, the blue gold is fed directly into the “Sila Sibiri” pipeline. 

In the period 2020-2022, the volume of hydrocarbon supplies to China under the “Sila Sibiri” project will increase from 5 to 15 billion cubic meters. The facility will reach its design capacity of 38 billion cubic meters by 2025. In 2023, it is planned to expand its resource base by connecting the Kovykta gas condensate field located in the Irkutsk region to the artery